Circuit Protection; Shock Tactics in Real-Time

If Sandy taught us anything, it's that rapid response is utterly critical in times of crisis. Be it on a citywide scale or a circuit-sized scale, bad decisions can result in catastrophe.

And when you're dealing with something as volatile as electricity, it's always better to be safe than sorry. At least, that's what the fuse maker Littelfuse believes, and the reason why the firm is putting its weight behind an initiative that promises to deliver rapid responses, in real-time, to engineers working on designs requiring circuit protection.

We've all heard the horror stories from engineers about what happens when voltage goes awry, and Littelfuse is incredibly keen to keep those shocks from happening inside or outside the lab environment. After all, it's all well and good making pretty electrical appliances, but if you're going to get a shock from your phone every time you pick it up, that's not tolerable. The fact of the matter is, designers need to bear circuit protection in mind, no matter how thin and light a device they're building.

Because modern design cycles are so short, however, Littelfuse says it's adamant about not slowing down the design process in any way.

Littelfuse's director of global marketing and communications, Cathy Whittaker, recently told us that the company is working on a Web environment intended to specifically to tackle the urgency faced by engineers on the front line of invention. They place a premium on getting to the right information at the right time. To that end, the site will feature a Q&A forum, blogs, live chat, tutorials, selector guides, design kits, Webcasts, sample circuits, and frequently asked questions.

Fully interactive, the portal is supposed to address a variety of circuit protection queries and other design-related content.

"Quick turnaround cycles are a problem for design engineers" said Whittaker, noting that there was increasing pressure for products to be released at a lightning quick pace.

Thanks to Sylvie for bringing attention to the continuing mission of Speed2Design. As the world's leader in circuit protection, Littelfuse is committed to being the premier destination for solutions to even the most challenging CP applications.

I appreciate all the insightful and valuable comments. As we strive to provide meaningful value to our customers and design engineer stakeholders, feedback is critical in helping us understand how to structure Speed2Design.com to deliver the greatest benefit to those it was created for. I am encouraged that the interest shown in this concept is proof, as Chuck said, that the idea is a good one. The new LED Lighting Design Guide e-book is a shining example of the type of new content we'll be providing through Speed2Design.

Over the next several weeks, we will continue to add more content and interactive components, while evolving the site to make it easy-to-use and more focused on providing design solutions and support. Also, I'd like encourage the design engineering community to share feedback and ideas as we look to exceed your expectations. Feel free to email us at Speed2Design@littelfuse.com.

I can't speak for the execution of the website, TJ, but the idea's a good one. Today, design engineers typically leave circuit protection considerations to the last instant, and then they want to get it done fast.

I agree, Speed2Design is the wrong place to look. littlefuse.com is a better choice, but the blogs and live chat seem to be missing. It's one thing to say that you have changed your web site, but quite another thing to actually do it, apparently.

Sylvie, looking at the web site, the front page does not easily welcome someone looking for a fast answer as Littelfuse states.

Most of what can be seen on the front page ties into racing. If one is looking for an industrial protection solution, it's going to take less than 10 seconds to bail out from the site.

Littelfuse needs to improve the interface, or the people looking for fast solutions will look elsewhere. Links to the selection guide are on one of the five pages in the scrolling banner at the top. You stand an 80% chance of not seeing the selection guide when looking at the page.

I use littelfuse products in my designs but I've not found speed2design to be helpful at this point.

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